Built for Ceramicists,
Not Spreadsheets.

Every ceramicist has stood at the wedging table with a calculator app open in one hand and a dog-eared glaze chemistry book in the other. The formulas exist — Brongniart, Seger, Orton — but applying them correctly, every time, without errors, is the slow part.

ClayCalc was built to make that repeat work easier. Each tool turns a stated method into repeatable arithmetic and pairs the result with notes about what the formula can and cannot establish.

Everything currently on this platform is free. No login or subscription is required. Calculation values are sent to ClayCalc's server for the calculation request and are not written to the application database.

Calculators use a stated formula or estimation model. The shrinkage tool uses the measured wet-to-fired ratio; the cone reference uses published Orton data; and water-absorption guidance points readers to ASTM C373. Where a tool is a studio estimate rather than a laboratory method, we label it accordingly.

Studio ceramics contains variables that a form cannot observe: material batches, atmosphere, construction, application thickness and firing history. Inputs and coefficients are therefore documented, and estimates should be checked against your own test pieces.

Results are rounded to useful working precision. Our methodology and corrections policy explains sources, software checks and the boundary between calculation and testing.

ClayCalc is used by ceramicists at every level:

• pottery Studio potters — calculating shrinkage for fitted lids, or costing out their production runs.
• school Ceramics students — learning glaze chemistry and firing science with a tool that shows the working, not just the answer.
• factory Industrial ceramicists — verifying calculations for slip casting, plaster mold design, and batch formulation.
• palette Hobbyists — who just want to know how much clay to buy for a set of mugs, or whether their kiln firing will fit the budget.